Michel Platini says the measure can improve the footballers' behavior

UEFA president Michel Platini

MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/. Football players’ reputation as well as their behavior on the field may be greatly improved by introducing some amendments to the current rules, for instance, sending them to serve several minutes' penalty time for misconduct during the match, Michel Platini, the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Platini said that in addition to the current yellow and red cards, which a referee hands over to players for their misconduct, a white card could be also introduced to send players serve several minutes penalty time during a game time.

According to the UEFA president, footballers nowadays are criticized for their behavior during games as they commit faults, simulate injuries and engage in verbal battles with referees.

Their behavior needs to be improved, Platini said, and several minutes' penalty time can be introduced to give a player some time to cool down just like in the sports of handball or rugby.

In line with the current football regulations, a referee shows a yellow card to a player to indicate that the athlete was officially warned of his misconduct. In this case the footballer may continue playing the match, but if he is caught again for misbehavior, a referee produces another yellow card and then the red card, which means that the footballer must leave the field immediately. In this case a coach can replace the red-carded footballer by another player.